Decomposition of cubic graphs related to Wegner’s conjecture

Abstract

Thomassen formulated the following conjecture: Every 3-connected cubic graph has a red–blue vertex coloring such that the blue subgraph has maximum degree 1 (that is, it consists of a matching and some isolated vertices) and the red subgraph has minimum degree at least 1 and contains no 3-edge path. We prove the conjecture for Generalized Petersen graphs.We indicate that a coloring with the same properties might exist for any subcubic graph. We confirm this statement for all subcubic trees.